SHELBY MADNESS | ISIAH JESUS [EDITING]

CHAPTER 2

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Harlow stayed locked in Arthur's office, waiting for the end of the business day. She didn't want to be around Jasper. He had been giving her a bad vibe since she ended things that morning. Every time she glanced out of the window of the office, there he was... Glancing right back at her, with a smirk on his mouth. It gave her a pain in her chest she couldn't explain. This time, however, when she glanced out the window, she was met with Isiah giving her a soft, gentle smile. One she welcomed.

An hour later and the Peaky Blinders closed up shop, exiting to go home to their families. Leaving Harlow, John, Arthur, Finn and Polly to gather around a wooden table in the middle of the Betting Shop, waiting for Tommy to arrive. Finn paced the room, nervously, while Arthur evaluated his knuckles from a fight he got in at the boxing hall earlier that day. Harlow puffed on her cigarette, the tension still hovering sharply in her body. She wanted it to be over, wanted to know for certain that she wasn't being targeted.

Laying her cigarette in the ashtray in front of her, she pressed her fingers to her temples, trying desperately to clear her mind of the happenings of the day. Harlow couldn't escape the thought that something bigger was going on with Jasper. He had never been anything but gentle with her in their time together. Though after what had occurred in her brother's office, she was no longer sure.

Her thoughts clearing like smoke when Arthur stated sharply, "Sit down, Finn." Harlow sighed, gratefully. Finn took the seat next to Polly, who was perched at the end of the table. Harlow couldn't wait for things to go back to normal. At least as normal as it got around the Shelby family. Harlow lifted what was left of her cigarette between her lips, inhaling roughly. John flashed his eyes at her suspiciously, but turned away almost as quickly as they came.

John nervously pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time before replacing it back in his suit pocket. "Where the bloody hell is Tommy?" 

Harlow, aware of her older brother's anxious ticks, reached up to a standing John and placed a hand on his own. She wanted him to relax. She needed him to relax. Harlow was already on edge and John usually was the one to keep her grounded.

"He's on his way," replied Polly. Harlow realized their must still be tension between the two from their earlier conversation.  

Arthur stood from his seat across from Harlow. He sent his sister a wink, reaching behind him and lifting a crate onto the table. "All right then, while we're waiting patiently..." He pulled out several bottles from the crate, scattering them on the table. "Whiskey. Left over from the explosion." Finn vanished for a moment, returning with a handful of glasses in his arms.

Harlow glanced up at her oldest brother, stubbing out her cigarette into the tray. Arthur seemingly knew what she wanted by the peek in her curiously limpid eyes. He flipped the corner of his mouth up, filling a glass, and skidding it to her. If Tommy was there, she would have had to try harder to convince anyone to hand her a drink. Of course, they knew she drank. Tommy just didn't want it to become a habit, to become of her. Like it did Arthur. So, to the best of his ability, he attempted to counter how much and when she did consume alcohol.